Issues Views Reviews

Traffic Signal is worth a watch – a movie review

February 9, 2007

Traffic Signal is worth a watch. The film got bad reviews and that was one of the reasons I didn’t go for the film at first. Well, I liked the film. I don’t know why people said it doesn’t have a story because it very definitely does. The story is one of hope. It tells us how even in the worst of human circumstances, character and integrity can survive.The movie also shows you how the Mumbai beggars live. We get to know the intimate details of their lives, the fact that they are controlled by the mafia, which in turn pays the politicians. Nothing new really as everyone knows that begging is an organised racket…but it was the Madhur Bhandarkar’s direction which brought the world at the traffic signal alive. Most of the characters looked and acted their part.
Bhandarkar has portrayed the beggars as victims, not exploiters. For example the boy who has been nick-named Tsunami is a ten-year from the Tsunami hit area who comes to to Mumbai as his parents went missing in the Tsunami. Actually they are dead – but as the compensation money has been eaten up by corrupt officials they are declared ‘missing.’ So every week the boy spends the little money he has to telephone officials in Chennai to ask if his parents have been found.
All the characters have a sad story to tell. The protagonist Silsila (Kunal Khemu) has been born and brought up on the streets. Rani (Neetu Chandra) the girl from Gujarat sells clothes on the streets of Mumbai. The prostitute (played very well by Konkana Sen Sharma) is in love with the drug addict. Sure, there are several small stories running concurrently in the movie but that does not take away from what I saw as the theme of the movie and its message – that the beggars are victims of a corrupt system and that inspite of their miserable lives, hope and love and truth survive.
Silsila decides to testify against the underworld don who organises the killing of a good politician. That was what this movie was really about. If more people like Silsila came forward it would help the system to change. But can we really blame people if they don’t because they fear for their life? How can we expect people who lead such lives to play hero? That is what makes Silsila larger than life…a real hero.
Well, the movie is entertaining in parts and sad in parts. But all in all, a decent film. Not earth-shaking cinema by any means, but it definitely does not deserve all the poor reviews it recieved.

Search by subject

DISCLAIMER

Scroll down to read

1)The information on this blog is not given for any commercial purposes. Any ads that you might possibly see have been put there by Wordpress and the proceeds go to them, not a single penny/paisa to me

2) The information on various subjects may be by no means comprehensive. The articles on health are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Do seek the advice of your doctor if you suspect that you have a medical condition.

3) I do not have any affinity for any political party.

4) On my front page there are links to blogs I read. This does not mean that I subscribe to their views.

5) I am not a professional photographer and operate with the easy-to-use digital Canon 610.

5)Any material taken from another source is for referencing only. If anyone has any objection to their work being referenced, please write to me to ask to withdraw the reference.

6) Photographs from news sites are at times used on this blog, with acknowledgment. I am not making money from this blog, but if the owners of the photographs object, kindly write to me and the picture shall be removed.

Search all posts by date

A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS:Your response is greatly valued so go ahead and say it! I read all comments and also try to answer each one. But I don't usually answer comments on my old posts, unless someone asks a question, but your views are always welcome and every comment is a kind of update so don't hesitate.

GIVE YOUR SUGGESTIONS:If you have suggestions for posts, you are welcome to email me with your ideas at the email address given above. I shall do my best to use them.

WRITE A GUEST POST:If you wish, you can also submit an article of yours for publication but it will be published only after review and if it fits in with the style and theme of this blog. Your name and a link to your blog will be provided at the end of the article.

Any subscriptions to email forwards or newsletters will be deleted and marked as spam.

A NOTE:The newspaper and magazine articles published on this blog are written by me. However, they may not be a word for word representation of the articles published in print. They may be abridged versions, or simply updated.